With Varian captured, Elsa had to be Rapunzel's training partner. "I don't understand why we can't just go and question this Ambrosio guy for information!" Rapunzel said as she blasted some fire that Elsa repelled with her ice powers.
"Because he's just a mercenary." Elsa explained. "Ruddiger explained this already. Mercenaries only know as much as is needed to get the job done, he wouldn't know where they are now or what they intend to do with him."
"There has to be a way to find him, though!" Rapunzel cried.
"There is." Kline walked up to them and they stopped training to turn to him.
"Master Kline." Elsa said, bowing her head respectully.
He chuckled. "I have told you, Your Majesty, you need not bow to one such as I." He turned to Rapunzel. "While your personal connection with him has been cut off by dark magic, there is one that may be able to help. The youngest Princess of Koto, Princess Nuru, has a connection to the Cosmos even stronger than myself. She will be able to help us find young Varian."
"Princess...Nuru?" Rapunzel's brow furrowed. "She's only 14."
"And is wise beyond her years. As the Princess of Corona, you will surely be able to visit with her." Kline said calmly. "Either that, or you wait for them to make the next move, and that may end in disaster for Corona."
Rapunzel sighed. "Alright...I'll go to Koto. I have to send a message to them." She walked into the castle.
Elsa clutched at her hands. "...I wish I could do more to help."
"You are already doing plenty." Kline assured her. "Right now, she needs someone like you to be her rock in this difficult time."
Elsa nodded, then looked up at the sky. "...I hope he's alright."
–
Black rocks burst through a painted target, prompting cheering from theonlookers.
"You always make such a big deal out of it." Opal rolled his eyes.
Of all the names he'd been given by this group, he had decided that "Opal" suited him best. Though, "he" was actually not fully comfortable either, physical state aside, so..."she"? No..."they" seemed better. Yes, it made sense, since they were two people in one, the host's mind was dormant and had been for forever, as far as they knew.
"Can you fault us for our adoration of everything you do?" Lucas said, walking over to him and taking their hands in his. "You've come such a long way in such a short time, we're so impressed!"
"Thank you." They took their hands away and walked over to replace the target. "However, the Sundrop has been active far longer than I. I must continue to practice, to improve, if I am to beat her and free Quirin." Opal sighed and rubbed at their head. "I need to rest. This body has been overworked."
"I'll take you back to your room." Lucas said, offering them his hand.
Opal took it and let him lead them back inside. "Do you worry that I will fail against the Sundrop?" They asked as they walked.
"Not at all. You are already so powerful, and she has years ahead of you." Lucas assured them. "You will exceed expectations." He took their hand and kissed it. "You already are."
"You flatter me." They pulled their hand away. "But, do keep worshipping me. It gives me more energy."
Lucas chuckled and opened their bedroom door for them, leading them to sit down on the bed before he knelt before them. "I want to worship you day and night. I want to show you how much I adore you, dear Opal, and I want to show my appreciation for you, if you will allow me."
"Your offer intrigues me." Opal said thoughtfully. "Very well, demonstrate to me the extent of your appreciation for me. Worship me."
Lucas smiled and placed his hands on either side of Opal before he rose to his feet. Then he moved one hand up to cup their cheek and tilted their head up. "Please close your eyes, Honored One. This is something to experience, not witness."
"Oh, alright." Opal closed their eyes and then they felt something press against their lips, warm and gentle. They let out a soft moan of delight and then they felt something brush against their lips, coaxing them open. Curious, they complied and reached up to grasp at Lucas to brace them, but then they were being laid down as something warm and wet pushed into their mouth and they recognized it as a tongue, moving their own against it. "Mmm..."
Lucas slid a hand up their shirt, pushing it higher, touching their skin. They felt their heartrate pick up, their body heat up, and they clutched at fabric as Lucas started to massage their body with touches that made them let out out soft moans and heavy pants.
"L-Lucas.." They murmured, pushing him back and opening their eyes. "I could not breathe, and I have come to understand that that is a requirement for the human body."
Lucas chuckled and kissed him gently. "Forgive me, Honored One."
"Mm...you are forgiven, if only because that was a pleasurable worship ritual." Opal said, looking away with heated cheeks.
"I'd like to show you more pleasure," Lucas murmured in their ear, "if you will allow me. There is so much pleasure that can be done to the human body, so many sensations for you to experience."
"I think...that I am tired from training, and my body feels...I think I have experienced enough for now." Opal said, shaking their head. "Perhaps...another time."
"Of course." He gave them another gentle kiss and then stepped away. "Rest well, Honored One." He bowed at the waist and then left the room, closing the door behind him.
Opal sat up, moving their hand over their mouth. "That was...intense." They murmured, then got up and went to look in the mirror.
Their cheeks were so pink, flushed, and their eyes looked a little hazy. They tugged their shirt down properly and ran their hands through their hair, attempting to compose themselves.
"That...felt nice, but I also feel...strange." Opal placed their hand on the mirror. "...I feel...like I was betraying someone. But who? How could that be?"
They closed their eyes and got a vision of a young man with reddish-brown hair, green eyes and freckles. What was this? Who was this? This didn't make any sense. They were supposed to not have any memories of a life lived before waking up in this body, but these images...they tell a whole other story.
"Nngh..." He placed his hand on his head.
"He"? Yes...he was a "He". He had a name...has a name...what was it?
He looked around, then went to the door to open it and step out.
Who was "he"? What was his name? The Disciples called him "Moonstone", "Opal", "Honored One"...but none of that felt right. He had to fight theSundrop...why? Because she was working with the Brotherhood and had his father captive? That also didn't feel right!
"Hhhnngh..." He whimpered, leaning against the wall.
"My Lord?"
He tensed and looked up at the girl next to him. "...Melina." He said, his brow furrowed. "I....who...what is my host's name? Who was he? Did he live a life?"
She looked surprised, alarmed, even.
"What?" She asked, confused. "Your host? He's been asleep all this—"
"DON'T. LIE. TO ME." He roared, and she stepped back. "Did my host have his own life? Who is 'Clyde'?!"
She looked frightened, but then composed herself. "...I think that you have been dreaming."
He pushed off of the wall and glared down at her. "You are still lying to me."
She fidgeted with her dress, glancing away. "Okay...fine. You want the truth. Fine. Your father isn't here because he tried to keep you from your host. When your host finally got you, because your father was briefly incapacitated, his will was too powerful for you to awaken. He didn't get you until he was fifteen years old, during which time he had gained a reputation for being a troublemaker, earned himself a year in prison, got tortured in prison, got sent on a prison barge, took over it with a mutiny and met up with the Sundrop, who was the whole reason he was in prison to begin with. Despite all the pain she caused him, he came to see her as a friend and used your powers to benefit her but didn't let you awaken. Zhan Tiri has determined that the boy is unfit to control his own body and it was time to wake you and, in return, you would help set her free of her prison."
He glanced away. "And 'Clyde'?"
"Your host's boyfriend. He's a demon hunter and grew up in the same village." She fidgeted with her hair. "Are you...mad?"
"Yes. No. I don't know. I don't know myself, I'm getting...flashes of my host's memories and it's upsetting me. Why did Quirin not come to bring him to me when he was too young to form his own will as agreed?" He turned away. "What of the Brotherhood? Are they actually a threat to me?"
"To you, yes. To your host, no. They would lock you away inside his mind once more." Melina confirmed. "You, Honored One, would be trapped inside the mind and body of a boy called 'Varian'."
Opal sighed, rubbing at his/their head. "Now I really need to lie down. This is all...so much. Why did they not just tell me all of this to begin with? Quirin betrayed me? He didn't do as agreed and bring the baby to accept me into his body? He wanted until he was fifteen—no, apparently that wasn't even his choice?"
He/They looked at his/their hands. "...You say I was tortured. How do you mean?"
"I think...if you look at your back, his memories will tell you for yourself." Melina said softly. "But...I advise you spare yourself that trauma."
He/They sighed, then turned back to her. "Tell me everything you know about my host." He nodded back towards his room.
"Uhm...okay." She nodded and followed him into his room.
–
How did one go about asking someone you've only talked to once to ask to talk to their youngest daughter? Rapunzel decided it would be best to actually let her mother take the lead on this task, and she decided it would be best to go in-person to talk to them instead of sending a letter, considering the urgency.
"I've always wanted to go the Cliffs of Koto...I just thought it'd be under better circumstances." Rapunzel sighed.
"Well, we'll come by again at a more peaceful time." Arianna assured her.
Rapunzel nodded, and then they got into the hot-air balloon and set off.
"I hope that little Nuru can help us..." Rapunzel said, looking out at the horizon.
–
"Princess Nuru, it is time for your piano lesson."
"Yes, Beatrice."
A young, dark-skinned girl with eyes the color of amber and hair the color of the evening sky set down the paintbrush she had been using and got up from her painting, which was of the night sky with a pattern of stars in a particular shape, that of a boy with a stripe in his hair. Beside him was a woman with long hair and a boy with a ponytail and glasses. All of them also had freckles.
"Soon..." she murmured, her eyes glowing purple, "the separated four will once again reunite."
"Princess Nuru!" Beatrice called again.
She jolted and turned to the door, hurrying out of the room. "I am on my way!"
–
Clyde sighed heavily, leaning his head on the bartop. "I should've been there..."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up." Hugo said, pushing a glass to him. "Adira couldn't stop him from being taken, what could you do?"
"I don't know, something." Clyde took the glass and drank the milk inside before putting it down with a heavy sigh. "That damn Lucas is probably putting his hands all over him..."
"Don't think about such things." Eugene said from where he sat next to him. "We'll find him before anything really bad happens, don't worry." He sighed. "I just hope this Kotoan Princess can actually find him..."
"Kline says she can, and he's the True Seer, so he's gotta be telling the truth, right?" Hugo shrugged. "We gotta trust in the Cosmos or whatever."
"'Or whatever'." Eugene smirked.
"Hey, I don't believe in all that stuff." Hugo shrugged. "But, if there is a higher power that can help us, that'd be great."
"Yeah." Eugene nodded. "I'm hoping and praying to every god I can think of that Varian is okay."
Clyde nodded, then pulled out the device he used to locate Disciples. "They're too far away for the radar to detect them anymore...where did they take him?"
Hugo patted his back. "All we can do is wait for word from the Princess."
"Yeah..." Clyde buried his head in the wood of the bartop.